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We're Christian moms who not only love books, but love helping our kids learn to love books - and the Lord. This blog is our ministry, started because we couldn't find a comprehensive website of Christian children's picture book reviews. We hope you find it useful.

(Founder, Executive Editor, Reviewer) is the mom of a sweet and sassy 9 year old girl and an active 6 year old son. She's also the author of over 20 books. Visit Kristina at her blog Proverbs 31 Woman.

(Reviewer & Special Project Copyeditor) is the mother of Pierce, who is 15, and Natalie, 21. Christine is also the author of 11 children’s books. She lives in Ohio with her husband Bill, her son Pierce, and her dog, Black Velvet. Follow Christine's blog here.

Suzette Ladouceur(Reviewer) is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mommy to two littles (5 and 2), and wife to a sweet, loving husband. Before choosing to stay at home with her children, she was a teacher for 11 years - 1 year as an elementary music teacher and 10 years as a 4th/5th grade teacher. Learn more about Suzette and her family her blog, The Joy of Homemaking

(Reviewer) is a wife, mom, 5th grade teacher and cancer survivor. Her daughter Sydney is 10, son Lucas is 5 and daughter Ella Grace is 4. You can learn more about Amy and her story at her blog, Some of the Best Things in Life are Mistakes.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Kate's Philadelphia Frenzy is the fifth installment of Barbour Publishing's Camp Club Girls light-hearted, mystery series. In it, Kate and Sydney team up to help Kate's friend, Andrew, and his father. When Andrew's dad, renowned Phillies shortstop, Tony Smith, is recorded making disparaging remarks about his team, his fans and teammates turn against him. Only Kate and Sydney believe he was framed. With Kate's technological expertise, Sydney's love of baseball, and long-distance support from the other four Camp Club Girls, the mystery doesn't stay unsolved for long.

The "Camp Club Girls" is a group of six girls who met at summer camp. They became friends, rescued a puppy and solved a mystery together. Now, they stay in touch via email and instant messaging, as well as traveling across the country to visit each other.

In Kate's Philadelphia Frenzy, Sydney is thrilled to be invited to stay with Kate and help her figure out who is framing Andrew's dad. Sydney loves baseball, and appreciates the chance to meet Mr. Smith and attend some home games. Kate, however, is clueless about baseball. She even calls the bases "placemats, " and the field a "court." She tries to be interested in the game, but is more excited about all the technology in use. Kate and her dad invent robotic devices, and Kate has tons of high-tech gadgets at her disposal. These gadgets and a blog site she sets up are instrumental in solving the mystery, and restoring Mr. Smith to favor with his team.

Throughout the book, the girls rely on God and counsel Andrew to trust Him, as well. They ask Elizabeth, the oldest "Camp Club" girl, to set up a prayer team, and they are sure to thank God for answering prayers. They also learn how destructive rumors can be.

What I Like: The girls in this series are all fun-loving, smart, and unique. They love God, but they also love to chat, eat at restaurants, and have adventures. They are realistic role models for pre-teens who may be wondering what it means to be a Christian in a secular world. Things aren't always perfect, but they always fall back on God.

I also like the varied settings of the mysteries. From Washington D.C., to a western ranch, to the baseball field, the settings are as unique as the girls.

In this book, I especially like how author, Janice Hanna, portrays the friendship between Sydney and Kate. Kate is super smart, interested in technology, and not at all athletic. Sydney, on the other hand, has been in the Junior Olympics, and loves sports. However, they are good friends despite their differences.

What I Dislike: I still am not convinced having a different author for each book is the best way to write the series. I find the voice changes from book to book, and the spiritual tone is not consistent. I realize each book highlights a different girl, but I think the writing would be stronger if one author was writing all of the books.

Also, I was disappointed in the cover image of Kate. She is described in the book as petite, with freckles and glasses, but she is shown on the book's cover as a polished blonde with flawless skin and hair, and no glasses.

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The books reviewed on this website are often review copies, which are sent to us free of cost, as is traditional for all professional book review publications. We receive no perks, payment, or other freebies for reviewing books, and we are not required or encouraged to review books in a positive manner.

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